Category: Power Pop Review

Happy Independence Day 2010! Enjoy the long weekend.

Chad Hollister “s/t”
Fans of John Mayer, Jack Jonson and Dave Matthews will find Chad Hollister’s casual acoustic style just perfect. Chad has opened or performed for Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Blues Traveler, among others. Chad is a Burlington, Vermont native with an infectious rhythmic sound that’s easy to enjoy on a hot summer day. “Grow” is a perfect example of catchy beat and strong roots riffs that recall both Jason Mraz and The Black Crowes. The light coffee house beat of “Change” is another winner here. “The Answer” is another gem that sounds effortless, and there is a killer acoustic version of The Cars “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend.” Every song has a positive message and an energetic groove with bits of rock, funk and reggae thrown in the mix. Not much else to say but… check it out and you won’t be sorry.

My Space | CD Baby | Amazon

Nadia Kazmi “Arrival”
Once in a while I am sent something that catches my ear on a good day. Nadia Kazmi is a Canadian singer with a good voice and a love of  the poetic singer songwriters John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.  The lovely piano ballad “Julian” is a nice mix of Beatlesque soul and sweetness. Unfortunately I found the remaining tracks missing that high mark. The vocal approach is similar to Joss Stone with blues influenced ballads taking up most of the album. This works with her best written material on “Volcanos,”  “The Blues Always Bleed Red” and “Mother,” but the songwriting on the remaining tracks fail to generate much excitement.  Some tracks are just overwrought and cliched (“Arrival,” “Martians”). Nadia is definitely a talented singer, but she should work more on her songwriting before she takes the next step in her career.

My Space | Amazon | Itunes | nadiakazmi.com

Milwaukee’s own Mike Benign has a compulsion to play rock and roll that’s not easily dismissed and with the help of guitarist Joe Vent, bassists Brian Wooldridge and Paul Biemann, keyboardists Tyler Traband and Dan Type, and drummer Mike Koch they’ve got a nice debut. “Rollicking Musical” has great songwrititng and production, and the opener “Legendary Superheroes,” gives us a catchy riff in the chorus too. The sound is a pretty good mix of influences from Elvis Costello, The Byrds, Guided By Voices, Crowded House and Squeeze with Benign’s working class vocals leading the way. The lyrics are thick with cynicism in “All The Married People” but the true gem here is “The Soothing Sounds of Seals and Crofts,” with it’s fuzz guitar and awesome hook, describing an insomniac’s rant that “…Sleep is a sign of weakness.” It’s on this album Benign has found his true voice, but it may take a few spins to get used to his Dylan-like cadence. Much of the albums second half don’t quite reach the highs of the earlier tracks, but “Hotel Bar” is a beautiful guitar ballad that is very moving. So repeat after me… I will get this album. The power of Mike Benign compels you!

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I reviewed a father and son duo earlier this year, so here is another combo: Daniel A. Craig and his son Daniel F. Craig joined by the Wrecking Crew legend Larry Knechtel in one of his final recordings. The band calls the genre they play “TwanglePop” (bit of twang and jangle I suppose) that borrows from the heyday of 60’s and 70’s country rock. The studied rhythms that open “Pay It Forward” are pleasing and Knechtel’s organ playing recall Protocol Harum. The twangy “Your Favorite Song” compares well to The Jayhawks and Wilco. But the focus changes on “I Know A Woman” and the title track, where horns and synths evoke those cheesy AOR lounge tracks that make even Robert Lamm fans cringe.  Thankfully, the album takes a brilliant turn on the descriptive “Yard Sale,” where the gentle harmonies tug at your heart. The album just gets better as it goes forward, with the strong atmospheric “Marysville” and even the drum machine sounds great on the excellent “Hollywood Walk Of Fame.” A lot of fun ends out the last track “Lament For The Aging Rocker” where a familiar guitar ditty speaks the truth here as it names names (“Do you think Def Leppard’s deaf?/When you’re way too old to fake it and you got no hair to shake, boy/Your medication starts kicking in…). The band also covers Sammy John’s “Chevy Van” quiet well. Listen to the album streaming at quakers on probation.com.

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With their debut in 1997 “Soon”, The Lollipop Factory quickly establish themselves as disciples of 70’s-era rock. Guitarist/vocalist David Tweed and drummer/vocalist Bekah Manning sound a lot like a marriage of Queen, Jellyfish and T Rex. Almost ten years later the band has roared back with “Away In A Trailer.” The band has pretty much toned down the pop sound here and replaced it with more metal, albeit in a carnival atmosphere. “Song For Robert Schuller” is a glorious opener with the Freddie Mercury multi-layered vocal harmonies wrapped in a forceful guitar attack. As a metal-pop album, it will earn plenty of raves. Another standout is “Crashed and Crucified,” and the killer riff leading “JumpJet.” The Jellyfish influence comes through on the excellent “Objective Man” and the classic “Somewhere My Love.” Unfortunately the band seems to concentrate more on texture and tone than any hooks or melody. “Lovers Leap” and “Tore My Heart in Two” are both a metal mess and “State Of Distraction” is off-key to the point of near unlistenable. Thankfully there is enough here to bang your head to.

A new EP “Eat Cake” was released this year, and the songs are more pop oriented, like the ambitious title track, full of complex chord progressions. “Freeze Pop Holdup” has Bekah’s vocals up front and it sounds like a totally different band. “Rigor Mortis” adds a vaudeville-styled “eulogy” break, and is a ton of fun to listen to (fans of Bryan Scary take note). The band has been touring the midwest in support of the album and EP. Overall this a band going through a creative growth spurt – and we benefit musically. They just need more focus and consistency to sustain a full albums worth of tunes.

My Space | Not Lame | Kool Kat Musik 

Listen to “Song For Robert Schuller”